


Familiar Faces

by JakkuCrew (fromstars), perlaret



Series: Poe DADmeron [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gay Parents, Gen, Kid Fic, Latino Character, M/M, Poe DADmeron, knightpilot, not mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 12:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6753229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromstars/pseuds/JakkuCrew, https://archiveofourown.org/users/perlaret/pseuds/perlaret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Losing at Starkiller base had never been an option, not when Poe knew his daughter was back on D'Qar. However, successes sometimes come with unexpected consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Familiar Faces

Poe hit the ground with a bounce in his step, flush with adrenaline and the thrill of a won battle. The warm, humid air of D’Qar filled his lungs, a welcome reprieve from the stale air of _Black One._ He breathed in deep and smiled wide.

“Good job, buddy!” he told BB-8 as the droid disengaged from the astromech mount and rolled forward. BB-8 trilled triumphantly, and Poe only had time to briefly clap the dome of its head affectionately before he was swarmed by both grounds crew and his squadron alike.

“Excellent flying, Commander!”

“Yeah, and another thing to go to his head–”

“What a shot!”

Poe laughed, even as he scanned everyone’s faces, taking in who was there and who was still missing. “Good job, you lot. Today, we sent the First Order running scared and defenseless.” Poe clapped Pava’s shoulder, and elbowed Snap playfully, grateful that they were both in the haphazard throng of people crowded on the tarmac.

It was impossible not to get caught up in the infectious enthusiasm that came with a solid success – something the Resistance had sorely needed after years of denouncement from the New Republic and the subsequent tragedy of the Hosnian system’s destruction. They _needed_ to celebrate, needed to hold onto their moment of triumph before they took the time to mourn their losses.

A shadow flickered overhead, accompanied by the roar of an engine that had probably seen better days. The crowd looked up, pausing their chatter to watch the notorious _Millennium Falcon_ coming in for landing. Poe didn’t bother to watch the _Falcon_ touch down, but instead continued to count faces, and mentally chalk up losses, even as he kept up with the chatter. It wasn’t until he happened to turn a few minutes later, pushed about by the throng, that another dark smudge drew his eye towards the ship, where a shadow of a man descended from the freighter like a tall, looming spectre. Poe hadn’t realize how close the lot of them had moved toward the ship, but it was close enough to make out faces as Rey and Finn followed after their fellow, brooding passenger, both looking reticent in his and Han Solo's wake. The man’s expression was equally guarded; his eyes so dark that they seemed to take in light around him as he impassively scanned the crowds.

Poe went cold, sweat prickling on the back of his neck beneath his collar. He took an impulsive step back, jostling one of his squadron.

“Commander? You okay?” Pava asked, raising a brow at Poe.

“Yeah,” Poe replied, his voice sounding far off even to his own ears. He rubbed at his cheek and forced a grin. Snap and Pava were frowning at him, clearly unconvinced by his sudden turn in mood. He tried not to wince when a callous on his palm caught at the still-healing scab that lingered on his cheekbone. “–Yeah,” he repeated. “I just realized I’d better go in and say hi to Kaera before debriefing. I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.”

“Aw, the kiddo’ll understand. Besides, Finn and the new girl just got here, we should give them a big welcome back,” Snap said, gesturing over towards the pair that had trudged down after the looming figure. They were too far off to read their expressions clearly, but Poe knew he couldn’t be imagining the tension that seemed to radiate from that side of the tarmac. “Looks like we got some last minute help, too.”

“Wonder who that is,” Pava said, shrugging her shoulders. “Kinda a big dude, right? Maybe one of Solo’s connections?”

“–Or that Finn kid’s? Some First Order mole?” Snap mused, rubbing his chin in contemplation. Poe shrugged his shoulders awkwardly, before he began to pull away from his squadron. “Hey, the General’s there. Does she know him?”

“I’ll catch up with Finn and the new girl later,” Poe said evasively. “I can practically _feel_ Kaera’s annoyance if I drag my feet on this, guys. But save me a round at the bar, alright? I’ll be around after I prove I came back in one dad-sized piece.” Poe smiled and cut off any more well-meaning objections off with a jaunty wave, then beat a hasty tack towards the base’s residential unit.

He didn’t look back.

 

-

 

Kaera, at six, had grown into a bundle of infectious energy and sharp elbows, the latter of which she threw around Poe’s neck with a delighted, “Papa!” when he scooped her up for a hug hello. Poe squeezed her tight, spinning her about once so her legs went airborne. His daughter giggled, quite possibly his favorite sound in the whole galaxy – even better than the hum of a well-tuned starfighter engine and the whistle of the wind outside his cockpit as he reentered atmo.

“You’re back fast this time!” she said, loud and excited in his ear. Poe didn’t mind. Holding her again set his recently frayed nerves back to rights. They may have won the battle, but it still had been too close. There was a lot on his mind, but none of it weighed so heavy as the knowledge that, had they failed today, Starkiller base would have been firing on the system where his baby girl lived. Losing had never been an option.

“I told you I would be,” Poe said, and blew a raspberry into her cheek for good measure.

She scrunched up her face and squirmed away from his lips. “Yeah, but last time you weren’t.”

Poe paused, biting his bottom lip. Kaera pulled back to give him a look that was comically serious in response to his silence, her pointed chin set. She raised a dark brow at him. For a moment, Poe wasn’t sure if he should laugh, or swallow back a wave of sadness. She looked so – striking.

“Didn’t I tell you that was a _super_ secret mission, though?” Poe prompted, aiming for levity and tapping his daughter’s nose gently with his finger.

“ _Papa,_ ” Kaera huffed. “You _crashed_ , didn’t you?”

“What? No,” Poe said, taken aback by the sheer certainty that radiated from the little girl in his arms. She wasn't fooled though, as evidenced by the deeply skeptical expression that wrinkled her nose. He sighed; there was no getting around Kaera’s intuitive sense for these things. Didn’t that just figure? “Maybe a little.”

“You’re not supposed to crash, Papa,” she scolded. “Is that why you came back all beat up?”

“Yeah,” Poe said, on the edge of another sigh, and brushed another kiss over Kaera’s forehead. “That’s what happened. Don’t worry though. Papa learns from his mistakes.”

Kaera looked up at him, her lips pursing. “Papa, why are you sad? Didn’t you win?”

“We did win,” Poe assured, bumping his forehead against Kaera’s gently. He closed his eyes for a moment, and breathed in. Kaera was so like her father that it unnerved him at times, and comforted him at others. Poe wondered if she would sense it just as much as he had – if Kaera somehow simply _knew_ that things were already changing. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with Kaera’s warm, but dark, gaze.

She was _just_ like him.   

“ _–But_ ,” Poe said, drawing out a slight pause, “–you still haven’t kissed my cheek boo-boo to make it better,” he said, hoping to distract her from the thread of worry that still ran through him. Poe turned, placing his cheek in her view. “Right there. You gotta do it, or I’ll have an ow forever.”

“Papaaa,” she groaned. “I’m six. You know I know that’s not how it works!”

“ _Forever,"_ he repeated, grave as could be and fighting off a smile. “Is that really what you want for your Papa? To be disfigured and unhandsome?”

Kaera giggled, sufficiently charmed by his antics. “You’re silly,” she declared, and her lips graced his cheek in a sloppy kiss, and while it may not have been enough to heal scars, it was enough to set Poe’s heart to rights, at least for the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated!
> 
> Feel free to also bug us on tumblr @[perlaret](http://perlaret.tumblr.com) and @[claidilady](http://claidilady.tumblr.com).


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